Spelling memo sheets

Memo sheets bring together the essential rules and tips on a simple support that the child can consult at the moment of writing. For a child with dysorthographia, they are a precious aid: they relieve his memory and help him write correctly. Here is how to create and use them effectively. A small tool, with great effects.

What memo sheets are for

A child with dysorthographia often struggles to retain and apply spelling rules at the moment of writing. The memo sheet allows him to have them in front of him. It helps him at the moment of writing.

It relieves his working memory, which is often overloaded when he writes. He can concentrate on his ideas, and check the rules when he needs to. His memory is relieved.

Over time, by consulting the sheet again and again, he ends up retaining certain rules. Memorisation comes with use. See visual memory.

What to put on a sheet

A memo sheet should be simple and focused. One sheet per topic: homophones, plurals, verb agreement, invariable words. One topic per sheet.

For each rule, include the essential tip, with one or two examples. For example, for “a” and “à”: “replace with avait”. The essential tip is enough.

Avoid overloaded sheets: the less information there is, the easier they are to use. Less is more. See homophones.

A clear layout

Use a legible font, colours to distinguish the elements, and plenty of space. Pictograms and small drawings help to spot information quickly. Clarity is essential.

Always keep the same colour code from one sheet to the next, and if possible the same as the one used at school and by the speech and language therapist. Consistency helps.

Laminate the sheets so they last, or keep them in a small ring binder. They need to last. See learning with colours.

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Creating them with the child

Sheets created with the child are often more effective than ready-made ones. By making them, he thinks about the rules and already partly memorises them. He takes better ownership of them.

Let him choose the colours, the examples, the drawings. He will take better ownership of his sheets. His choices matter.

Add new sheets as learning progresses, following the class curriculum. They evolve with the curriculum.

Using them every day

Keep the sheets within easy reach: in the pencil case, stuck into the exercise book, displayed above the desk. The child must be able to consult them easily. Accessibility is essential.

Encourage him to use them when proofreading: he checks each rule against his sheet. They help with proofreading.

At school, the use of sheets may be permitted under a PAP, for exercises that do not test the rule itself. They may be allowed. See PAP and dysorthographia.

The word list

In addition to the rule sheets, a word list is very useful. The child writes down, in alphabetical order, the words he uses often and finds hard to spell. It is his personal tool.

It is his personal tool, which he enriches over time. He enriches it over time.

See invariable words. He gains independence.

Updating the sheets

The sheets should evolve with the child. When a rule is well established, the sheet can be put away. When a new topic arrives, a new sheet is created. They evolve with him.

Regularly review things with your child: which sheets does he really use? Which are useless? This regular review is useful.

This sorting also helps him become aware of his progress. He sees his progress. See mind maps.